Process for making a food product



Patented July 23, 1935 Q in z I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I rnocass Fort mg jlroon rnonuor I No Drawing. Application October 25, 1933, Serial N0. 695,164

2 Claims. (Cl. 99-9-5) Green legumes, green cereals and green forage that a vertical chamber 70 to 80 feet high, round plants are most highly digested in that state by 'or square, of about 12 feet diameter or sides, will the animal mechanism, as well as fresh or wet give the sprayed or .atomized fish or plant paste brewers and distillers grains or fresh fish and sufficient time to dry when sprayed from the top 5- fresh fish ofial. To preserve these foodstuffs, into the chamber against the rising hot air or gas 5 they are usually dried and it is due to the drying which enters near the bottom of the chamber and process that the degree of digestibility is considerescapes through the top of the .chamber. The ably reduced and the so-called life giving food dried solid food material falls to the bottom of factors or vitamins are largely destroyed. the chamber. The chamber may have a funnel Fresh green legumes like soy beans or alfalfa or shaped extension so that the dried food material m fresh green cereals like barely or cats, green foris collected below the entrance of the hot air ages like cabbage, and wet or fresh brewers and or, gas. The height of the chamber produces distiller-s grains are valuable animal foods; They sufficient natural draft, in fact the action is simicontain in this state the greatest amount of food lar to that of a smoke stack. The hot air or factors or vitamins and are frequently preserved gases as they travel from the bottom inlet upin the form of silage for animal feeding purposes wards, absorb gradually the moisture from the and are plant foods. Among the food stuffs of sprayed or atomized material as it drops so that animal origin, fresh fish and bony fish offal are the hot air or gases are practically saturated with available in great abundance and on account of moisture when escaping from the top of the drytheir highly perishable nature, they frequently ing chamber. This method of drying is highly 20 are subjected to a drying process by exposure to economical and preserves the natural qualities furnace heat, whih destroys a large percentage of the food material to be dried to the fullest of valuable nutritious matter and thereby reduces extent possible because the lowest temperature their food value to a great extent. Fish material is maintained at the top outlet of the chamber contains a large percentage of bony matter, and thereby guards the food material to be dried whereas plant food stuffs contain a large percentagainst destruction by exposure'to excessive heat. age of fibrous matter, and upon drying this fish This condition is maintained throughout the drymaterial it is most difficult and expensive to grind ing chamber as the temperature increases toit to a meal after drying it, whereas it is much wards the bottom of the drying chamber while the more economical to grind this fish material while moisture content of the food material to be dried, fresh and in its natural state, and the plantfoods decreases. By this action the natural qualities in their green state, and then drying the same to of the food material are greatly preserved.

a semifiuid paste, atomizi'ng or spraying the paste A further object of my invention relates to the from the top of a vertical drying chamber into the grinding of finely divided particles of wholefish drying chamber against astream of hot air or or bony fish material or fish offal, green legumes, gas rising within the drying chamber from a botgreen cereals, green forage plants, or wet distilltom inlet, which arrangement is more fully deers or brewers grains, and comminuti'ng the scribed in my application for United States Letfinely ground bony fish material or fibrous plant ters Patent, filed April 1, 1930 under Serial No. material with the fieshy or juicy material of the 440,800. Fresh fish or fresh fish offal as well as samegto a cream like semifiuid or paste. 40 green fodder plants and wet brewers ancfdistillers A further object of my invention is, after the grains contain o y a u moisture, fresh fish or bony fish offal or green legumes or which is sufiicient moisture to form a semifiuid green cereals or green forage plants or wet brew- Paste when ground fi ers or distillers grains are ground to a cream y invention relates t0 the g 'of fresh like semifiuid paste, to remove its surplus moisfish, fresh fish offal, green legumes, green cereals, ture by spraying or atomizing the same against green forage plants and wet brewers and distillers a, stream of hot air or gas in a vertical drying grains to a cream-like semi-fluid paste, then chamber, which is constructed of sufficient height spraying or atomizing the paste into the top of a to allow a drop of several seconds forthe sprayed vertical chamber, constructed of sufficient height, or atomized food material so that its bony or against a current of hot air or gas, and exposing fibrous particles are fully dried. The dried food the sprayed or atomized food material a sumcient material is then removed from the bottom of the length of time to the hot air or gas by drop in drying chamber, packed in meal form and sold the vertical drying chamber so that the bony as afood.

or fibrous particles are fully dried. By test I find In practicing my invention, I proceed for ex- 55 able grinding machine.

of its natural moisture content previous to grind ing the same, it may be moistened somewhat to bring its moisture content back to normal. Be-

fore feeding the raw food material into the atby the rising hot air or materials which have been finely trition mill, it is passed through a chopper or cutter and choppedpr cut so that it can readily be fed by conveyer or otherwise into the hopper of the attrition mill. The grinding Plates of the attrition mill are set suificiently tight so that the bony or fibrous food material, as the case may be, is discharged in semifluid paste form so that it can readily be drawn by suction into a pump. The pump forces the semifluid paste through a suitable spray or atomizer or aplurality of the same, fitted at the top of the drying chamber. The drying chamber is of the vertical type, round or square, about to feet high, about 12 feet diameter or sides, well insulated, fitted with a hot air inlet at or near the bottom so that the hot air or gases may rise by natural draft against the ground food material sprayed or atomized from the top of the drying chamberdownward so that the hot air or gas absorbs the moisture of the sprayed or ato food material gradually as it rises and escapes saturated with moisture through an opening at the top of the drying chamber. The amount of hot air or gas drawn or forced through the drying chamber and the amount of the finely ground food material sprayed against the hot air or gas rising within the drying chamber is so timed and regulated that practically all of the moisture from the sprayed or atomized food material is absorbed may be fitted with a funnel shaped extension so that the dried food material is collected just below the hot air or gas inlet. The height of the drying chamber is such that the bony or fibrous particles are exposed a sufficient length of time whiledropping from the top to the bottom ofthe chamber againstthe current of hot or gas so that practically no moisture is retained. It will be noted that the comminuted, contain bony particles when fish material is used and fibrous particles when greenplant material is used and said bonror fibrous particles require a longer period for drying than 'the meaty or juicy material. The heated column of air or gas which passes upwardly through the drying chamber, has its highest temperature at the lower end of the drying chamber where said hot air evaporation and subsequent absorption of heat by the moisture in the sprayed or atomized material. The moisture saturated hot air or gas may be screened when passing out of the drying chamber to remove all particles of dried material and return said particles to the collected dried material at the bottom of the drying chamber. The dried food material collected at the bottom of the drying chamber is then removed by a suitable conveyer or other arrangement, then passed through a pulverizer, and is then packed in bags or other suitable containers, to be sold as a food.

. I claim:

l. The method of preparing finely divided particles of fish or bony fish ofial, which comprises finely comminuting said bony material, including the meaty juices, to provide a cream like semifluid paste, spraying or atomizing the same in contact with a column of heated air or gas into a confined space, the heated air or gas being supplied at a point considerably below the point where the semifluid paste is sprayed or atomized into the rising column of heated air or gas, so that the particles in process of drying of said fish or bony fish oifal will fall through the' heated air or gasfor completing the drying of said particles, the particles being progressively dried during their fall through the .column of heated air or gas and emerging from said column where the heated air or gas has the highest temperature, then collecting the dried particles.

2. The method of preparing finely divided particles of green fodder or forage plant material or green cereals or fibrous wet oifal from grain cereals, forage or fodder plants, which comprises finely comminuting said fibrous material or iibrous ofial, including its juices, to provide a cream like semifluid paste, spraying or atomizing .the same in contact with a column of heated air or gas into a confined space,'the heated air or gas being supplied at a point considerably below.

the point where the semifluid fibrous paste is sprayed or atomized into the rising column of heated air or gas so that the particles in process of drying of said fibrous material will fall through the heated air or gas for completing the drying of said particles the particles being progressively dried during their fall through the column 01' heated air or gas and emerging from said column where the heated air or gas has the highest temperature, then collecting the dried particles.

wn-nnm P. u. canon. 

